The game could have been a movie, a soap opera side-by-side action and Kevin Durant and his longtime friend P.J. A stage play between Tucker.
But as the Milwaukee Bucks trailed the Brooklyn Nets 115-111 for all the drama spread across the floor on Saturday night in an epic overtime Game 7, all the exhaustion that led to exhaustion and respect-filled hugs, it was the bottom line: the bottom line: The Bucks stars are healthy, and they're in the conference finals.
Whatever the Bucks' flaws - and they exist - this could be a golden opportunity for them in the gold trophy. This may be the best situation since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson played in the 1970s. Those Hall of Famers also didn't win Game 7 on the road to the Bucks.
Some time could be spent discussing why it was so hard to consider Brooklyn's injuries, how Milwaukee let some games slip through its fingers — and the almost decisive Game 7 itself. But that was all preamble; They survived the series.
"We kept our composure throughout the series," Giannis Antetokounmpo said after scoring 40 points with 13 rebounds in 50 minutes.
"We were down 2-0, we were able to come back. We lost a game to 15 [points in Game 5]. And against all the odds in Game 7, we were able to come here, KD's defense and won."
Against all odds, perhaps, but certainly off the tip of the shoe of Durant, who broke the 3-point line when he scored the last brilliant shot of his stellar series. What seemed to lead to the first move was a game-tying 2, which bought the Bucks another chance.
The way the Bucks came about in this series was articulated by veteran center Brooke Lopez. The Stanford-educated big man (though he was once suspended for skipping class) inexplicably forgot that the shot was less late in clock regulation and absent-mindedly cost the Bucks a significant authority, even when organized. For the time had just run out.
But in overtime, as Durant was free to go to the rim, Lopez kept up with the play, creating a crucial block that helped keep Durant scoreless in overtime - the determining factor in ultimately securing the win.
Durant had a stat line that should not be lost to history: 48 points in 53 minutes, never giving up the floor. His performance in the series was one of the best for a losing player in league history. If the MVP for the conference semi-finals had been awarded, Durant would have won it. And for that reason, this win gets no asterisk next to the Bucks. He earned it all the way and overcoming Durant's efforts fueled his hopes for the upcoming round.
One person who won't take this lightly is Tucker, who couldn't get past Durant's Golden State Warriors teams when he was a member of the Houston Rockets. For a moment he thought he would be missed again when Durant made the long, wild jumper on his arms that forced overtime.
"It's painful. I'm hurting. That was a fight every night," said Tucker, whose back-and-forth with Durant spread in good-natured manners among Durant's family and friends. "It's great to be able to finally get over the hump."
The Bucks aren't completely over the hump, of course. Technically, they're halfway there now.
He slayed last year's dragon, sending the Miami Heat packing in a confidence-building sweep. Brooklyn opened as a major series and championship favorite and, it should be noted, was up 49 points in Game 2 over Milwaukee, even with James Harden on edge. On Saturday, too, Sportsbook established the Nets as the slightest favorite despite Kyrie Irving's exit and Harden clearly still obstructed.
The Bucks were 0-5 in Brooklyn this year and have been notorious for thwarting close playoff games. Jure Holiday was shooting 2-of-17 late in the fourth quarter. Khris Middleton couldn't buy a shot. The referee allowed for vicious, physical play in this second-round finale – Blake Griffin was flat-out wrestling with Antetokounmpo several times, and the small nets escaped into the trenches, nearly everything away.
There's a lot of great talent and great teams at home or on vacation. The boxes are still here.
"There were a lot of ups and downs within the series. There were a lot of ups and downs in this game. Everyone fought very hard," Antetokounmpo said. "I almost got emotional there. That's really what we wanted."
You don't always walk down the aisle for a championship coronation. Sometimes you beat the other guy with his Nike toe.